


Lead Me

by jurdanhell



Category: The Folk of the Air - Holly Black
Genre: F/M, Here we go, Hi i don’t know where this is going, Post QoN, QoN - Freeform, Queen of nothing - Freeform, anygays, but here we go, holly black - Freeform, i also don’t know how to dance, jurdan - Freeform, save for the waltz, tcp, the cruel prince - Freeform, the queen of nothing, the wicked king, twk, which is where this is coming from
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21708169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jurdanhell/pseuds/jurdanhell
Summary: Jude Duarte was capable. Adaptable. And as Queen, things were expected of her. She knew this, and yet she didn’t anticipate performing the one think she knew she didn’t know how to do: Dance.Jude begins to think she’s in over her head, and wonders how she can keep her head above the water this time.
Relationships: Jude Duarte/Cardan Greenbriar
Comments: 2
Kudos: 82





	Lead Me

Dance. They wanted Jude to dance. Of course. Jude could lead an army, evade a war, break the curse that loomed over their kingdom, and crown a king. That wasn’t enough, apparently. 

If nothing else, Jude Duarte was capable. Adaptable. She adapted when Madoc took her from the Mortal world and brought her to Faerie, when she crowned Cardan, when she became seneschal and was expected to know the ways of the court, when she was kidnapped by the Undersea, exiled by the High King, and when she was officially crowned by the court. Jude was flexible.

”Jude?” A voice called from behind her. She sat on her bed, head in her hands. The only acknowledgment she made was removing her hands from her head and sitting up straight. The door closed behind whoever had entered.

A hand rested on Jude’s shoulder, and she placed her own over it. “Whatever is it?” A small sigh escaped Jude’s lips as they sat down beside her on the bed.

”It’s nothing important, I’ll be fine.” She looked up, meeting Cardan’s eyes. He didn’t buy it.

Cardan’s arm slipped from her shoulder and wrapped around her waist, effectively pulling her closer. Jude wanted nothing more than to soak in his warmth, to stay in his arms; _damn the court._

Cardan said nothing, and that said everything. He waited patiently for Jude to speak, knowing she would give in if he let the silence sit. It did, and it grew under Jude’s skin and took the fog out of her mind.

”It’s just. . .”

”Yes?” His arm pulls her closer for a second, squeezing her gently. It was meant to be reassuring, and Jude knew that. But she was suffocating. In his heat, his smell, his voice. She wasn’t sure she wanted it to stop, either. If this was wrong, then Jude didn’t want to be right.

“I don’t know if you recall, you were quite drunk.” A soft chuckle rises from Cardan’s throat. “At Dain’s coronation,” she tried again. Now she had his attention. As she contemplated what to say next, a silence grew over the room, thick and heavy. “I don’t know how to dance, Cardan. At least, not well.”

”Is that all this is?” Cardan raises a brow at her admission, as if it meant nothing at all.

Jude was quiet for a minute, and Cardan worked to fill the silence he knew was getting to Jude. It was one thing to encourage her to talk to him, it’s another to let it drown Jude entirely.

”Jude, dear,” He takes a breath, and she’s not quite sure she wants to know where this is going. “My sweet nemesis, my darling god,” Jude buries her face in his side at the mention of the names. “My _Queen_ ,” it was Cardan’s turn to catch her attention. “Is this really bothering you that much?”

”Yes.” Jude’s voice was barely above a whisper, but he heard it nonetheless. 

He stood, almost leaving Jude to fall on her side in the sudden absence of him, if she hadn’t have caught herself. He stretches out an arm, offering her his hand. She takes it instinctively, and almost regrets it when he pulls her to her feet, into his arms. 

Cardan laced their fingers together and rests his other on her hip. Jude hesitates for a moment, before gingerly placing her remaining hand on his shoulder. She couldn’t make herself meet his gaze, so she pretended the floor was much more interesting than it was. 

“We’ll go slow. Nothing complicated, and nothing fast.” He said, as if that made everything better. His voice was gentle, though. Gentle in a way that Jude still hadn’t grown accustomed to. She didn’t think she ever would, and that would be okay. She liked the spike of surprise it gave her. 

“Okay,” Jude didn’t have a clue what she was doing, but followed along anyways. 

“Take your right foot back, and then your left follows and swings to the left.” Jude does as instructed, Cardan’s steps matching her own, gently leading her through the dance. “Then your right meets the left, and you do the same thing with the other foot, but forward.”

”What?” Now Jude was lost. 

“From where you are now, bring your right foot to your left. Then take your left foot forward, and swing your right forward and off to the right. Meet your left with your right, and start again.” Jude tries out the movements slowly, stopping where she started from. 

“Now what?”

”Nothing. That’s it. That’s the dance.” He said it as if it were the plainest thing in the world. “We’re back where we started, so we do it again.” Slowly, carefully, they repeated the movements. After every few turns of the dance, Cardan stopped her gently and spun her in place.

As the moves became known to Jude, she became more fluid. She was able to meet Cardan’s eyes again, and a smile tugged at his lips. “What?” She’d asked. 

“I thought you said you couldn’t dance?” Jude didn’t reply, but rested her head on his shoulder as he pulled her closer. Both of his arms snaked around her waist and her hands found their way around him. She wasn’t sure she’d heard it at first, but no. She did. 

Cardan was humming a soft tune in her ear, something only for her. Only Jude. Their movements were complementary to the other as they danced to a tune only they could hear. It was quiet, and they were content.

“I don’t want to do this, not in front of the court.” Jude was whispering, not wanting him to stop his soft humming. 

“Then let me lead you,” he starts. He gently pushes her away from him, taking her by the shoulders. “Short and simple, and then we can leave it all behind, do anything you’d like.” 

Jude closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him. Cardan’s arms did the same, and they held each other tight. Neither wanted to let go of the other, and they weren’t sure they would, if a knock at the door hadn’t pulled them apart. 

“Whenever you’re ready, your Majesties.” They called, and then receding footsteps. 

Cardan offered Jude his arm again, and when she took it, she stood a little taller. And this time, when Jude took to the floor, she didn’t mind the stares. She may not have been skilled with her steps, but she had Cardan. He was there, and he drowned out everything else. And Jude was okay with that.

**Author's Note:**

> :)
> 
> I don’t know how to dance save for the waltz, so that’s where this is coming from 
> 
> That’s,, that’s all I’ve got


End file.
